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Republicanism and Conquest (Pacem Republicae)
Rise of the Second Republic It was the year 933 AUC (180 CE). Marcus Aurelius was on his deathbed dying. However, in the latter part of his reign, he reigned as part of a triumvirate with Commodus. Commodus was proving to be a very ineffective ruler. If he came to power, disaster may befall Rome. Enter Aquila. He planned to end the First Roman Empire and establish a republic once again. If he were to do this, it would mean the end of the might of Rome in his eyes. Aquila's plan for Rome included the establishment of himself as the consul of Rome. However, he never planned to make himself any more powerful than any other consul of the Roman Republic. He needed to make himself seem like Julius Caesar. To do this, he needed to first establish himself as consul and begin a campaign. He already had such a campaign planned out. It would include the conquest of Germania, even including the many Germanic vassals to Rome. Successfully convincing several notable patricians with his powers of persuasion, he made a plan for a coup against the two emperors. Aquila was ready. Commodus was in Rome. He thought he was absolutely safe. But he was wrong. Aquila's mercenaries ventured toward Commodus and a skilled marksman killed Commodus. One of the two Caesars of Rome was dead. However, few could guess that the First Roman Empire was dying. When Marcus Aurelius came to talk to his dying, the skilled marksman shot an arrow at Marcus Aurelius. However, Aquila threw his shield in Aurelius' path. This was all part of Aquila's plan. At the funeral of Commodus, Aquila expected him to declare him the successor to Aurelius. He was right. Aquila was made Caesar of Rome. No one expected him to end the First Roman Empire. At the Senate, Aquila declared the Second Roman Republic. Declaring himself dictator for life, many saw the sudden change in confusion. However, with the change, the Senate was given more power. With little resistance, Aquila created a freer Rome. Although his declaration as dictator of Rome caused a bit of resistance, few were truly angered at the establishment of a dictatorship. However, despite calling himself dictator, in truth he was more like a consul. He did not have absolute power. That belonged to the Senate. The only thing akin to a dictator was him being in rule for life. Hence the happiness of the populace. Conquest of Southern Germania Under their new system, Rome looked to expansion. Aquila wanted to look more legitimate in the eye of the public. To do this, he would need to accomplish a conquest. Aquila looked to Germania. The region was a lot like Gaul in many ways. He thought of it to be a place to begin his version of the Gallic Wars. In 934 (181), several legions under the control of Aquila went to the Germanic vassal of Suebia. There, the king of the Suebi was killed by his legion. Taking direct control of Suebia and its small army, Aquila was ready to do what Germanicus could not. Aquila went toward the River Elba. There, he met the Goths. In the , Aquila defeated the Goths. The disunited Germanics without Arminius were defeated. The defeated tribes migrated northwards. The battle for that region would have to wait. Economics In Rome, Aquila's dictatorship was causing immense economic growth. As wealth flowed into the empire, Rome got richer. They no longer needed to expand to retain the status quo. In the first year of Aquila's reign, even with the conquest of southern Germania, twenty million denarii went into the Republic. It was good economic times for Rome. People went from peasant to patrician almost overnight. All this new wealth eroded class lines. However, many other empires were jealous of Rome's might. One of them was the Parthian Empire. They began to finance rebels in the empire. However, despite this, Rome just kept getting more money and any such rebellions failed brutally. Philosophy In Rome, a Greek philosophy grew. In Athens, the ancient home of democracy, the second rise of the Republic spurred a wind of belief in the writing of Plato. His political theories spread across Greece. However, as patricians toured the region for things like pilgrimage, they discussed with Greek nobility about philosophy. These people brought Platonism to the rest of the Republic. Platonic republicanism resulted in many becoming driven to the establishment of an aristocracy. However, when senators got wind of Platonism, propaganda was spread making Rome seem like a Platonist state. The equality of Plato's writings led to a blur in the line between patrician and commoner. Many patricians began to pay or free their slaves. Although slavery would remain a Roman institution, there were a lot less of them. Medicine The great physician Galen was finding that the Second Roman Republic was a much better place for him to make a career. Studying wounds of gladiators, he determined that the arteries carry blood and many other revolutionary discoveries. Aquila heard about him and decided that these revolutionary discoveries would help legitimize his dictatorship. Category:History (Pacem Republicae) Category:Pacem Republicae